What a cute little book! I was offered to read this before its released, by surprise! I didn’t know the author had a MG book in the making. I have always requested his arcs for his Nyxia Triad series, and I have loved to bits the first two books. The third one? I’ve been postponing it; I don’t want the story to end. What if my favorite characters die? Because that can happen!! Those books are unpredictable!

The main character of this story is a girl called Indira Story. But Indira is not your typical girl, and no, this is not the usual trope: Indira is a character in waiting. She doesn’t live in the Real World. In her world characters live waiting for an author of the real world to put them into a story.

The concept of this book is simple, yet complex. Not all the characters are given the opportunity to be in a story, and some are part of a book that’s never finished. Characters train hoping to become exactly the hero/side character/villain an author wants to write about. Some are disappointed, some are happy, some just accept their fate.

I liked how easy it was to read. How the author of this story put well known characters to be teachers in the protagonist preparatory school. Like Teacher Darcy and his how to fall in love by page 12 classes that were always under the rain, just to add in the dramatics. Or the Alice’s lesson of how to escape being kidnapped and solve riddles.

Title: I’m a Gay WizardAuthor: V.S. SantoniSeries: Gay Wizard #1Release date: October 29th 2019Number of pages: 352 (kindle edition)Good things about this book: It made me want to keep reading, and now I want the sequel. It has potential!Bad things about this book: Little info, little development, a bit rushed.Do I recommend it? Yes, it was cute.Rate: 3/5

A bit random, rushed, and what was that ending?? I need answers, and more info. A little bit more insight would’ve been appreciated. It felt like it lacked something; the characters weren’t really developed. I liked the story, I want to read a sequel if it comes out, but I want more clarity and development.
The book was cute, the magic system interesting, the twists surprising, the characters had potential. I enjoyed it. But more, a little bit more would elevate the book to 4 stars!

Title: All Systems RedAuthor: Martha WellsSeries: The Murderbot Diaries #1Number of pages: 144 (kindle edition)Good things about this book: An antisocial murder robot in love with tv shows. LOVE.Bad things about this book: It might seem short, and it is, but it doesn’t feel like it.Do I recommend it? Yes, of course.Rate: 5/5

“And in their corner all they had was Murderbot, who just wanted everyone to shut up and leave it alone so it could watch the entertainment feed all day.”

I love the bookstagram community because it recommends me so many new books I wouldn’t have known otherwise. There’s an account I follow that loves sci-fi just as much as I do, but knows so many more books that I do. It’s so perfect! I now have a lot of new sci-fi books to read and love!

The Murderbot Diaries was one of those recs. I dived into it as soon as I knew how short the books were. I’ve been in a reading slump the whole month so a short, engaging novella, was just what I needed. And it was exactly that; funny, intriguing, with an incredibly relatable Murderbot main character, and a very well built plot, not short of twists, even if the story was a short one.

I pictured Murderbot as a female even if it was stated that it was genderless. I tried real hard to picture it as it was meant to be, but my mind kept conjuring a female robot who really fangirled about her tv shows. The brain is hard to command!

I can’t wait to read the other novellas of the series. They will follow Murderbot in its adventured and misadventures in space, and I read the plot of this novella will be important to the following stories. What’s not to love about Murderbot and these stories? If you love sci-fi, then yes, read these novellas!

Title: Play It AgainAuthor: Aidan WayneRelease date: April 22nd 2019Number of pages: 288 (kindle edition)Good things about this book: It was simple and enjoyable.Bad things about this book: Too many “how to get famous” chat.Do I recommend it? Yes, it was fun.Rate: 4/5

This was such a pleasant book with no drama, quite cheesy, and just plain nice. Exactly what to read when you want things to start and end well, with no unnecessary obstacles!

Dovid’s name was distracting a bit because I still don’t know if I’m pronouncing it well in my head. I can relate a bit because my name is mispronounced and miswritten a lot!

I liked the calm and quiet of the romance. Just like it’d happen in real life. Getting to really know each other, understanding that you care way more than just a friend, exploring what this means, accepting the risks, being just happy to have each other, no matter the distance.

There were a little too many “how to be famous on the internet” chat: they were constantly talking about what to do to be rich and famous. At some point I was rolling my eyes because we didn’t get much info about the characters but now I know exactly what to do to earn money making youtube videos.

I’d recommend it.

All in all, this was a pretty book. Simple, the way I like it. Sometimes you just want to enjoy a book with nice characters, having a drama free life, and smile a little at the happy ending.

“It’s possible, I think, to be so many things at once that you’re practically nothing at all. If you crush a mountain and spread it across a continent, it doesn’t make little mountains; it just vanishes into dust.”

Title: The Hod KingAuthor: Josiah BancroftSeries: The Books of Babel #3Number of pages: 624 (kindle edition)Good things about this book: Great world building, amazing characters, incredible story.Bad things about this book: That there’s still one more and I want to one how the story ends.Do I recommend it? Of course!!Rate: 5/5

What a book!! What a story!! I loved that events were shown from different characters’ point of view. I enjoyed how the picture, at first with missing parts, just came together the more you keep reading.

The characters, as usual, were magnificent. Deep, raw, flawless in their flaws, if you know what I mean. Each of them essential to the story and for each other. People who played a part, who collaborate for the greater good whatever it may be. The Sphynx, forever mysterious showed us another piece of the mystery puzzle. But it’s not enough!!! I want to know more!

Cliffhanger!! I knew it was coming as soon as I read there were going to be 4 books, because I knew how the previous books ended. Mr. Bancroft seems to enjoy leaving us openmouthed and screaming for at least one more chapter!! The intricacies of the Tower, all the ringdoms, the politics, the good guys that are bad guys, who to trust, where to go. Everything is done with care and dedication and that’s really this story’s strongpoint: its world building. With a world like this, the characters shine!

Can’t wait for more!

“I think humanity peaked at the spoon, don’t you? A spoon can serve as a fork, a knife, a ladle… A good spoon is all you need, really.”

“I— I wish I could see things like you do.”
“But then you wouldn’t see things like you do,” Josy said. “And then there would be two of me and none of you, and that wouldn’t be so good.”
“It wouldn’t?”
“Nope. Because I like you just the way you are.”

Title: How to Be a Movie StarAuthor: T.J. KluneSeries: How to Be #2Number of pages: 350 (kindle edition)Good things about this book: Perfection, nothing to addBad things about this book: I said PERFECTION.Do I recommend it? Of course, I love Klune’s books.Rate: 5/5+++

“Sometimes you need to hide away from the rest of the world. And it’s okay to do that, just as long as you don’t forget the world is waiting for you when you’re done.”

All the stars, all of them!

ALL HAIL TJ KLUNE!!

I laughed so much, cried, smiled like crazy! This book was everything I expected and more, so much more!!! I’ll have to listen to the audiobook just like I did with How To Be A Normal Person. I need more of all these characters, I already miss them. The four text messages at the end?? How perfect were they???? My heart is exploding with joy!

There isn’t much to say about this book. It’s about a bearded demisexual stoner hipster who wants to be a movie star, and while he is working on his dream he falls in friendship with a monster porn author that’s more anxiety than man. I read one chapter and I already loved EVERYTHING about this book.

If everyone just talked about what they were feeling instead of hiding it, things would be so much easier. Miscommunication is such a waste of time.

It was so honest, so true. Josy is the sweetest characters I’ve seen in books in a very long time, if not ever. He may not be “normal” in the weird way people qualifies who is normal and who isn’t, but there isn’t anything wrong with him. He is sincere, he says what he thinks when he thinks it, he tries his best and doesn’t give up. He made a family for himself when the one he was born into decided he was too much to handle.

All the characters were essential to this story, to make it as relatable as it was, as hilarious, important and amazing! Quincy and his mental health, Gustavo and his adventures with the internet (OMG the phone call to the customer service was gold!), Casey and his unconditional love, even Casanova Xander. All of these characters, all of them, gave me so much joy. I was smiling so much. I laughed so much that my mom kept saying “wow, it’s really funny that book I see”. Yes, mother, it is.

“Looking after yourself is the greatest act of kindness you can give the world. Loving yourself first is the best way to spread love.”

Title: VigilanceAuthor: Robert Jackson BennettNumber of pages: 208 (kindle edition)Good things about this book: Raw and violent and so very likely to happen.Bad things about this book: I would’ve loved another short chapter to explain a bit the ending, because it left me like whaaat.Do I recommend it? I do!Rate: 4/5

“Sometimes you need to put you first and get fit and strong so you can go out and save the world when you’re in the best shape to.”

Another win for Holly Bourne. I kept nodding, she kept raising relatable issues, and I understood. I almost never put my oxygen mask first, then help others. I usually jump into helping others even if it drowns me, even if it brakes me, because I need the people I love happy, and if I can give them my happiness or give them something that’ll make them happy, then I’ll do it, no matter what.

I was afraid there was going to be some forced romance that we didn’t need. The story that needed to be told was not about a girl finding love in the weirdest of places, but about a girl getting the help she needed to get better, to live the life she deserves. And we got that. I felt all the feelings Olive was feeling. I felt the rush when she was hyperactive, I felt the darkness when all seemed lost.

I was angry at her for not wanting to get treated, for thinking she knew best, that she could “cure” herself her own way. If it was that easy, we would all be the happiest all the time. So many factors come to play that can determine wether we develop mental illness, but sometimes it’s just how we are born. There is no logic, no reason behind it, we just are wired differently. Some can cope, some need help. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.

The brain is a powerful thing. We need to keep it in shape. For us. If our brain is in shape, we can shape our lives better and we can share our happiness with the people around us, the people that we love.

I always recommend Holly Bourne’s books, and this is no exception. Read it.

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